Coopersville native one of two female lead engineers in NASCAR Cup Series

Angela Ashmore serves as the lead engineer on David Ragan's No. 38 Ford in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series (photo courtesy of Shari Spiewak)

Angela Ashmore was such a big NASCAR fan growing up that her mother had to hide her Dale Earnhardt Sr. t-shirts because that's all she would wear.

"She was going to wear black every day to school if she could," Ashmore's father, Al McCallum said.

Ashmore followed her childhood dreams and passion, and these days, she is a rare female working in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series. The 2006 Coopersville High School graduate is the lead engineer on the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports MDS Transport Ford driven by veteran David Ragan.

Ashmore and Team Penske's Andrea Mueller are the lone two females serving in this position in Cup. Mueller works on Ryan Blaney's No. 12 Ford.

Engineering was her ticket

Angela Ashmore of Coopersville performs a variety of duties in the shop and at the race track (photo courtesy of Shari Spiewak)

Engineering was her ticket

"When I was a little kid, I thought I would be a driver," Ashmore said. "But that takes an incredible amount of talent and an incredible amount of money. Unfortunately, I didn't have either of those. I did have a lot of talent in math and science, though. I knew I wanted to be a part of motorsports in some way, and engineering made the most sense to me."

Ashmore is an employee of Roush-Fenway Racing, and she is leased out to Front Row due to the two teams' technical alliance. She works three days a week in the shop helping set up the cars, then heads to the race track on Thursdays.

Michigan is next

LONG POND, PA - JUNE 03: David Ragan, driver of the #38 MDS Transport Ford, races during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 3, 2018 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Michigan is next

Ashmore is returning to her home state this weekend because Cup is competing in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.

Busy schedule

Angela Ashmore poses for a photo with her father, Al McCallum on race weekend (courtesy photo)

Busy schedule

Weekdays are super busy. She decides the car's geometry and general set-up items, studies aerodynamic and tire data, establishes a practice plan and meets with crew chief Seth Barbour, and together, they develop a race weekend strategy.

Race weekends are equally hectic. She reviews the setup with her car chief. She then prepares for practice, and once it starts, Ashmore can be found watching the action on top of the hauler. She will discuss changes in between runs with Barbour and receives feedback from Ragan.

"On race day, I come in and work on strategy in the morning and run through adjustments and simulation and make sure I know anything we might change during the race," Ashmore said. "I help decide changes during the pit stops, set fuel strategy and help our crew chief call strategy during the race. I also keep in touch with our teammates to see if they found anything."

Young fan

Angela Ashmore grew up rooting for the late Dale Earnhardt (courtesy photo)

Young fan

Ashmore got her love for racing from her father. McCallum, of Walker, worked on his brother Ken McCallum's race car, which he raced at Muskegon-area tracks. McCallum enjoyed taking his daughter to Berlin Raceway, too.

"We were within earshot and we could hear them doing hot laps," McCallum said. "I couldn't get my wife to go, but I knew Angie wanted to go. She would sit on my lap and that was our night out. She and her oldest brother (Dwayne) were the race fans in the family. We would get home from church and watch the races on Sunday afternoons."